TALKING WITH THE DIRECTOR DIPENDRA KHANAL: PASHUPATI PRASAD

The Nepali movie industry has improved leaps and bounds from the cringe worthy dialogues and romantic songs in pine wood forests. Today, Nepali movies have intricate plots, intelligent story lines, technical sorcery, and international quality performances. The era of mega superstars has slowly simmered down and a new era is dawning. Soon to be screened in theaters, Pashupati Prasad is one of the newest movies set to hit theaters and it looks to be very promising. We catch up with the director of the movie to find out more about Pashupati Prasad.

When Dipendra Khanal stepped into the movie industry in 2008 the likes of Rajesh Hamal and Nikhil Uprety were reigning supreme. Experimenting with movies wasn’t as widely accepted and there was a certain norm that had to be followed.

TNM: When would you say you got your break?

DK: Things did eventually change and it picked up pace. New people started entering the industry, digital formats increased in popularity and everyone began broadening their minds. The first movie where I truly felt some freedom in making was Chapali Heights.

TNM: How did that go?

DK: People weren’t very supportive right off the bat, but I did what I thought would work and Chapali Heights was successful. That spurred me on to try new things with my next venture.

TNM: That’s when you did Vigilante.

DK: Yes.

TNM: Vigilante was the first Nepali movie to be shot in 3D. What got you to get into that?

DK: 3D movies were becoming popular in theaters during that time and I was really looking forward to trying new things with my projects, and this was something that tickled my fancy. Although it didn’t fare to well financially, technically it was a success.

TNM: Tell us a little about how Pashupati Prasad was thought up.

DK: Pashupati Prasad is a social drama that we started working on after I discussed a story idea with Khagendra Lamicchane. This story, and the entire movie, is probably the closest reflection of me as a director; it was something that I had with me for a long time. Luckily, I met Khagendra and I felt like he was the right person to get this project started with. He liked the story and agreed to write for it.

TNM: What’s different about Pashupati Prasad?

DK: It has an authentic Nepali feel to the movie, something that newer movies don’t usually embrace. It is set in Pashupati, which hasn’t been done before, and the characters are really relatable with the audience. It is a journey of a character that meets other characters and intertwines that into the story about the negativities of today’s society.

It’s something that you can watch with your family and enjoy; and at the end you get to take away something from the movie.

TNM: The trailer paints a great picture about the story.

DK: It appears to be revealing a lot of the story but there is so much more that the trailer hasn’t even touched upon. There are separate sub stories of the characters involved.

TNM: There is a striking character in the form of Hanuman in the movie, tell us about the character.

DK: It’s something that audiences will find extremely entertaining and is crucial in disseminating the social message of the movie.

TNM: Going by the trailer, it looks to be different and very promising. What are your expectations from it?

DK: It’s like when you’re asked about how you did your exams. You know what you’ve put down on paper but you can’t really tell how really did until you get your results. Every project has a lot of effort put into it, and I and our team are really pleased about our work. But it’s in the hands of the audience from here on out.

Rest assured, the entire team has worked on the movie with integrity and we’ve put in a lot of effort and sincerity. And sometimes, sincerity is a very important part of making a movie.

TNM Team

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